Bluebird: A Memoir

by Vesna Maric

Vesna Maric left Bosnia the beginning of the war, at the age of sixteen, on a convoy of coaches carrying refugees to Penrith in the north of England. Bluebird is Vesna's funny, vivid and immensely readable memoir of the experience, from the beginning of the war through to her eventual return to Bosnia years later. Unlike many books on Bosnia, and refugees in general, Bluebird is never self-pitying, never grave. It's refreshing to read an account of these experiences filtered through the eyes of a teenager with attitude - written with brilliant comic timing and a great storytelling gift.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Read For School, War

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only way to humanize a war and its victims is to get to know the people affected. Thank you, Vesna Maric, for providing us a crisp peek into your life and that of your loved ones. Bluebird is entertaining, a page turner, and provides us an intimate window into the real life of a modern day refugee. It's unreal and could happen to any of us, anywhere, given the "right" conditions. I'm amazed also by the ordinary British citizens who risked their lives to take a convoy to Bosnia and help ship some people out. It's amazing when ordinary citizens leave the comfort of their own home to help others out, especially in the middle of a cruel war/genocide.

Unfortunately, as Vesna shows us, refugees continue to face stigma and stereotypes, including being viewed as savages. A compelling excerpt from Bluebird:

"[Upon arriving in England, at a shelter], a Bosnian woman found a cardboard box full of soap and picked up a piece that was shaped like an orange. An English woman saw her and jumped, grabbing the soap from her hand: 'No! Not to eat!' Everyone was aghast. "How dare she, the bitch, doesn't she know we had VCRs and cars and soap bars [at home]?" Our English hosts were embarrassed at their colleague's odd behavior, but we understood the situation: they thought we [refugees] were savages."

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gemma Arterton reads Vesna Maric's account of coming to Britain as a 16-year-old asylum seeker, after fleeing the conflict in Bosnia in 1992.

About the Author:
-----------------
Vesna Maric was born in Mostar, in 1976. At 16, she left Bosnia-Herzegovina on a convoy of Bosnian refugees heading to the Lake District, later moving to Hull and Exeter, and studying Czech Literature at SSEES, London. She went on to work for the BBC World Service and now writes Lonely Planet travel guides and a variety of journalism. She lives in London.

First broadcast in 2009 on BBC Radio 4.



Penrith castle in 1772

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming story beautifully told - the 'memoirs' of a refugee from Bosnia during the Balkan wars. Very easy to read, funny, sad, moving, wicked by turns....all expressed in some of the liveliest and most vivid English prose I've read in ages. And all the more amazing in that the author's first language isn't English at all - she only started learning English as a refugee at 16. A really incredible achievement. The book is written in easily digestible chunks and short chapters, and the author's obviously got a sharp eye for detail and storytelling - I'm looking forward to her first novel.

[Imogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but I don't really have anything to say about it.

[Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ good, but not great. At times this narrative was rather dry, but I can see how this can be appealing to the audience outside of the Balkans.

[Vansa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book on refugees in the UK , during Milosevic’s attempted genocide, when the UK offered to take in people at risk (when the world still had humanity). Vesna Maric and her mother went to England, leaving their father behind, and Maric writes in the teenage voice she would have had at the time. The experience is interesting, but at the risk of sounding patronizing about an experience I have not had, given how terrible things are now, Maric comes across as a bit ungrateful, when materially at least, it doesn’t seem to have been that terrible for her. Unlike the years and years that refugees now spend in hotels/hostels, waiting for their status to clear, after having made terribly arduous journeys to leave their countries, and face bureaucratic decisions such as the UK not allowing Iraqi refugees( after having created the conditions under which they possibly had to flee), this was not an easy read, compared to accounts like Flee or Io Capitano, or Exit West

[Jane Hammons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maric's talent as a travel writer really shows in this book. The level of detail is one aspect of the book I really enjoyed. Another was the way she represents the stories of other people--some who make the refugee's journey with her, people she meets as she adjusts to school and England, others she discovers when she returns to Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a young child she lived in Yugoslavia, so there are reflections on what it was like to live under the rule of Tito. The book is organized like a series of essays--often very short and not necessarily chronological, which I liked.

[Sonali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vesna left her home town Mostar in 1992 due to Bosnian war, story is about her personal journey in four years till she got refugee status in Briten.
It made me think about the challenges in my life as 16 year old and what I was doing in 1992 n tried to keep myself in her shoes. That said I must mention I didn't find it engaging enough and had to remind myself that it's written with teenagers view point of the situation.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of a Croatian refugee to Britain as a teen, interesting because I’d been to many of the locations, and good enough that I did finis it, but I’m not drawn to read more of her writings.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a Bosnian teenager who became a refugee in the United Kingdom during the war in Bosnia.

Maric writes about her fellow refugees, her experiences living in England, and her family and friends in short little chapters. The writing style reflects her age, which when I think about it, makes her stories more poignant. Having said that, it's a quick read, with touching moments, but it's definitely not the most profound book I've ever read.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memoir of a girl from Mostar who was 16 when the war broke out. She became a refugee in the UK, and the book is as much about that experience as about the war. Mostly a series of anecdotes, but interesting.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-83...

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir by a Bosnian regugee in England

[Elesa Labanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to know what happened next. Very engaged in her story having lived in Bosnia and in England and seen the war destruction that she mentions, although many years after she initially returned.

[Hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember the last time I read a book in one go.